


I Am a Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow

by ericsonclan



Series: OG World [43]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Past Character Death, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:35:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25737382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: AJ is on watch duty when two people show up at the gates of Ericson that seem to have ties with two Ericson kids who are dead and gone.
Relationships: Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running), Renata & Allison (Walking Dead: OC), Renata & Sophie (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: OG World [43]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815361
Kudos: 10





	I Am a Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow

**Author's Note:**

> (by Laura)

A.J. was up on watch duty for the morning. It was one of his favorite places to be. Keeping watch gave him time to think through things and make future plans. Not that the ten year old had anything particularly big to plan out today, but still, he got time to himself and that was good enough for him. Raising the binoculars to his eyes, A.J. scanned the tree line. There looked to be four walkers wandering about. 

No, make that three. One had just fallen. But what had taken it down? A.J. leaned forward, his eyes narrowing.

There was a rustling in the bushes where the walker had just been. A.J. thought he caught a glimpse of something. Too big to be a rabbit and walkers were too dumb to hide. He drew his bow, arrow at the ready. “Whoever you are, you should come out now. I won’t harm you if you’re friendly, but don’t fuck with us,”

Immediately the bushes shifted again. Two women rose from them, one looking to be a young adult while the other was in her teens. They both had their hands raised, though the teen looked unhappy with this arrangement. The older girl stepped forward, a bright smile on her face. She wore a winter coat with several buttons missing and a pink flower was tucked behind her left ear. Her other ear was missing completely. “Hi there. My name’s Renata and this is Allison. We don’t mean you any harm, we’re just glad we finally made it,”

 _Made it?_ A.J. had never seen this girl in his life and he was pretty sure that nobody at the school had anyone they knew outside the gates. What sort of trick was she trying to play? He drew back the string on his bow farther. “We’re not expecting anybody,”

“Oh, I’m not surprised,” Renata shrugged, lowering her arms. “You take a couple years to get to a place and you can’t really use the “fashionably late” card anymore. Should’ve gotten better directions when I had the chance,”

 _Is she one of Prisha’s old classmates?_ No, Prisha had said herself that they were all dead. Maybe she was one of the kids who ran away from Ericson back when the world ended, but then why would she not know the way back?

Renata looked up at him sympathetically. “You’re confused. I get that. Tell me, would your name happen to be Tenn?”

A.J. hadn’t heard that name in a long time. Who outside of the school would have even heard of him? And he’d been dead for years. This was too much for A.J. to figure out on his own. “Willy!” he called back behind him. “Tell Clem she needs to see this! We’ve got visitors!”  
Immediately the lanky teenager scurried towards the admin building, only sparing a second to squint in curiosity, trying to figure out who was outside the gates.

Renata seemed happy with the outcome of their talk. She motioned excitedly for Allison to join her in front of the gate. Allison did so cautiously, dropping a set of broken pruning shears at Renata’s feet once she reached her. Renata quickly picked them up and tucked them in the belt loops on her jeans. The two of them stood there silently, looking up at A.J. who refused to say a word. Finally Renata broke the silence. “So, you guys got any board games in there? I’m pretty much a pro at Monopoly if I do say so myself, but-”

“A.J., who’s there?” Clementine’s voice cut through the air as she hurried to the front gates, Violet and Prisha flanking her. They all observed the girls outside with suspicion. The location of Ericson was a well-kept secret. They never gave out that information. From the looks on their faces, none of them recognized the girls either.

“Hi there,” Renata smiled, sticking a hand through the bars. “My name is Renata and-” She backed up quickly when Rosie ran forward, snapping and snarling at her. It only took a moment for the smile to return to her face though. “Oh my gosh, Rosie’s still alive? I can’t believe it! She must be how old by now, 12? That must be like 80 in human years!”

“Who the fuck are you?” Violet’s tone was harsh as she stared at the pair, her hand on her meat cleaver.

“What my friend means to say,” Clementine cut in, trying to ease the tension. “Is you’re a stranger to us. So we’re curious as to how you came to know Ericson’s location,”

“Oh, right. Minnie and Sophie told me,”

It had been even longer since those names had been spoken. The group looked amongst themselves in confusion.

“Can we come in now?” Renata’s tone seemed hopeful. “We can lay down our weapons and even have you tie our hands if you want,”

“Renata!” Allison hissed behind her.

“What? Allie, this is the place we’ve been searching for all this time! And they didn’t shoot us on sight. I’d say that’s a pretty great start,”

Clementine observed the pair with caution. Renata seemed unusually chipper for a complete stranger trying to negotiate her way in with absolutely no leverage. Allison was clearly the more calculating of the pair, though she seemed to follow Renata’s lead. “Toss your weapons through. Then we’ll see,”

Allison didn’t seem to like that idea at all. Her hand reflexively went to the gun on her hip, but Renata chucked her blades through without a second thought. She gestured towards the gates with her head. “C’mon, Al, show of good faith,” Going against what she clearly believed to be better judgement, Allison tossed her gun and hunting knife through the bars of the gate.

Prisha and Violet picked up the weapons, looking to Clementine for the next step. Clementine glanced back in the direction of the school. Louis had stepped outside, waiting on the steps of the admin building, their daughter Maisy cradled in his arms. Clementine shook her head and he gave a nod, quickly heading back inside. Ruby was in the greenhouse with little Zachariah strapped to her back and Aasim and Omar were out checking the fish traps. If need be, Clementine was confident she, Prisha, A.J. and Violet could take down these two in a fight before they got very far. Clementine whistled at Rosie, directing her to keep watch in front of the admin building. “Open the gate,”

A.J. had climbed down from the watchtower and did as he was told. Renata and Allison strode through quickly, the gate clanging shut behind them.

Renata reached out her hand once more. “Name’s Renata. It rhymes with frittata,”

“Clementine. This is Violet and that’s Prisha,”

Renata looked amongst the three of them. “Violet I recognize from the stories, though I’m pretty sure the glasses are new. You two aren’t ringing a bell. I guess some other people have found their way here as well,” Her eyes scanned the yard hopefully before locking on Clementine’s. “Did the twins make it back?”

\----

The group stood silently in front of the twin’s graves. Allison stood back a few inches from Renata, her dark eyes piercing as she glared at the others, daring them to infringe on her friend’s space. Renata was silent, staring at the graves. Everyone else stayed quiet as well.

Finally Renata turned around. “Did you find the bodies? Because you know if you never find the body-”

“They’re gone,” Violet cut in. “We saw,” She didn’t tell Renata the truth about Sophie, the terrible revelation Minnie had given on her last night alive. That was too cruel to share.

Renata turned back around, slowly kneeling beside the graves. “Shit. Fuck. Maybe it was crazy to hope, but part of me always thought they’d be waiting here when I finally made it.” Her voice cracked a bit at the end. “They must have escaped though if you guys saw them again and they’re buried here,” She looked up at Violet. “Were they alright the last time you saw them? I don’t need to know how they died, but did they get to be happy again?”

Violet looked helplessly into Renata’s eyes. She wished she had something positive to offer. The most merciful option though was silence.

Allison placed her hand on Renata’s shoulder, looking concerned.

Renata sniffled loudly, shaking her head as though to clear her thoughts. “This world never goes easy on us, does it? Could I maybe speak with Tenn? I’d like to share some stories of his sisters with him if that’s alright,”

The group shared a look. 

Renata followed A.J.’s gaze over to the cross with _Tennesse_ printed upon it. “Oh,” Her voice was soft, almost frail. “He sounded like such a sweet kid too. I guess a lot changed while they were gone,” Slowly she picked herself up off the ground, looking amongst the group. “I suppose I should tell you how I know the twins then. Well, knew them,” She sighed before straightening her shoulders. “I was a Delta soldier alongside them,”

The news cut through the group like wildfire, setting all their nerves aflame. It was the only explanation that made sense, but still all of them had hoped it wasn’t true. The Delta had taken so much from them. Even though they’d heard from the caravans they traded with that it had fallen apart years ago, the mention of its name still haunted them.

“Not sure if it needs to be said that I was captured and forcibly drafted. Allison too. I bet Minnie and Soph told you all about the Delta and their practices capturing children when they got back here,”’

“Actually, the Delta came through here again,” Clementine answered. “That’s the reason we lost Tenn… and some others,”

Renata’s eyes were hard. “Did Marlon lead them back here?”

“Marlon is dead too,” Violet cut in.

“Guess there’s some karma after all,” Renata’s expression was dark, but soon faded into gloom. “Delta took so many. I shouldn’t be surprised they came back. That was always Minnie’s fear,”

“Fuck Delta,” Allison’s words were sharp and full of anger.

“Yeah!” an enthusiastic cheer came from behind them. They looked up to see Willy, the tallest of the group, smiling behind them. “What’d I miss?” he asked excitedly.

Prisha gestured to the newcomers. “Willy, meet Renata and Allison. From the sound of things, it appears they escaped from the Delta,”

“That’s _so cool!_ ” Willy exclaimed, his gap teeth prominent as his smile widened. “How did you guys do it? Did you blow up their ship? Cause that’s what we did. It was awesome!”

“Dude, you did that?” Renata exclaimed, her eyes wide. “We heard about that! A whole crew of Delta soldiers blown to bits. All that was found was the burnt-out hull of the ship. Man, if I’d know that was you guys, I could’ve found this place so much faster! All Delta units were ordered to steer clear of the area since no one knew what the hell happened. High five!” She reached up to slap Willy’s hand. He accepted the praise eagerly.

Clementine watched the conversation warily. These girls were trained soldiers. True, Renata didn’t act much like one, but there was something in Allison’s eyes that reminded her of the first time she’d met Minerva. Was it really safe to let them stay inside these walls all on the word of two Ericson kids who were dead and gone.

“Hey,” Renata’s voice broke Clementine out of her thoughts. “You wouldn’t happen to know the name of the commander whose unit came back to Ericson, do you?”

“Lilly. Her name was Lilly,”

Renata’s eyes seemed to sparkle at those words. “That means she’d dead then, right? You saw the body?”

“I killed her myself,” A.J. declared proudly.

This time it was Allison’s turn to give a high five, the smallest of smiles crossing her lips.

“Excuse me for a second,” Renata hurried back over to the graveyard, kneeling in front of the twins’ graves once more. They couldn’t hear what she was saying from such a distance, but she seemed to be gesturing animatedly.

Allison stood in silence, watching the group with a cold stare. It didn’t seem like she was particularly invested in being here.

“Hey, you want some food?” Willy offered. “Our apple trees have a butt ton of apples this year!”

Allison seemed fascinated by the offer, but shook her head a moment later, looking back toward Renata. Her protectiveness reminded Clementine of how she had been back when she and A.J. were on the road. Her loyalty to Renata clearly ran deep.

Renata joined the group a minute later. “Just had to share the good news. I mean, they probably already know since I’m sure you guys had a huge celebration after defeating the Delta, but I wanted them to get my first reactions,” The pink flower that had been in her hair was now gone. Glancing over, the others could see that she’d placed it between the twins’ graves.

Prisha had been silent for this entire time, observing rather than speaking. Now was no longer the time for silence though. “What are your intentions in coming to Ericson?”

Renata shrugged. “Originally, the plan was to stay here. I figured Soph and Minnie got back way faster than me seeing as they knew the actual location of the school and I just knew it was somewhere in eastern West Virginia. We’d hug, cry, share all the crazy stories of what it took for us to make it here… but they’re gone. Tenn’s gone. Any connections I could’ve hoped for aren’t here anymore. And I figure offering a place to stay is beyond what could be expected of you seeing as we’re just a pair of strangers who claim to know your long dead friends,”

The group shared a look. A.J. tugged on Clementine’s arm, leaning over to whisper to her. “Maybe we should let them stay. It’s what Marlon did for us and what we did for Prisha,”

Clementine looked over at Violet and Prisha. Both of them seemed unsure. They’d taken in Prisha in order to save her life. She never would have survived out in the wilderness with the severe crush injuries she’d sustained. Then again, wouldn’t sending these two outside the gates simply be a veiled form of murder, just as exile had felt to Clementine and A.J. when the group kicked them out? These girls had handed over their weapons freely. Was that enough of a sign to trust them?

“You can stay the night,” Clementine decided. “We won’t decide anything further yet,”

Renata’s face lit up at the offer. “You hear that, Allie? They’re not kicking us out yet!” She turned back to others. “There’s still daylight. If you want to put us to work, we’ll help scrounge up the best meal possible!”

Allison nodded, seeming tentatively excited at the prospect of food.

“You can help Willy pick some of those apples he mentioned for dinner. Prisha, Vi, can you set aside what you were working on and join them?”

The pair nodded, guiding the way to their small orchard. Renata skipped along with them, Allison keeping a steady pace behind, Willy walking beside her.

Clementine looked over to A.J. He had grown so much over the years; he was almost up to her shoulder now. “Look at you, being the most trusting of us all,”

“It’s the right thing to do,” A.J. said seriously. “You got left outside before when there was shelter right in front of you. I know you said you never want others to feel the same way you did,”

Clementine nodded, remembering when she was about his age, shivering alone in a shed in the middle of the woods, wondering if she would die from infection or hypothermia first. “I’m counting on you to keep an eye on them, just like I will,”

A.J. nodded. “I won’t let them anywhere near Maisy or Zach,”

“I know you won’t,” Clementine watched the newcomers as they disappeared round the corner. She never expected anyone from the past to ever arrive at Ericson’s gate, least of all a friend of the twins. She hoped this was the right decision. For now, she needed to talk to her husband and hold her daughter. “Heading back to watch?” She asked A.J.

He nodded, already beginning to walk over.

Clementine made her way back toward the admin building. Hopefully there would be no further surprises today.


End file.
